Inside a cave beside Lake Verity, Sato and the others were studying a simple dam layout map, analyzing the optimal breakthrough plan.
To avoid being detected by the force behind the Gastrodon, Sato had Krookodile dig a larger underground chamber, giving them a safe space to rest and strategize.
Suddenly, while explaining the ambush steps, Sato stopped and turned his head toward the nearby dirt wall.
Moments later, Gengar silently emerged from the wall under their watchful eyes.
"Any findings?" Sato asked directly.
"Gen... Gargargargargargargargar… Gengengengen~" Gengar nodded and began chattering rapidly.
"…"
Joseph, with Viridian Power, could naturally understand him completely. However, after Gengar finished speaking, Joseph didn't immediately translate the message. Instead, he furrowed his brow again.
"Joseph, stop dragging it out! What did Gengar find? Hurry up and tell us!" Mark impatiently urged.
Joseph seemed to be organizing his thoughts. After a moment of contemplation, he frowned and said, "Gengar did find something resembling a main base, but it also sensed three distinct Ace level auras. That means the other side has at least three Ace Pokémon.
But as for how many people are inside, and whether they have other Ace or even stronger Pokémon, we don't know. Since they're around the same level, Gengar feared exposing itself, so it returned early. But with only this much information, it's barely a drop in the bucket for us."
After Joseph finished speaking, both Sato and Mark fell silent. Their original plan to split into three teams now seemed completely unfeasible.
"Then we'll have to do it this way…" Sato, after careful consideration, slowly laid out a revised plan.
They patiently waited until 3 a.m. The time when humans fall into their deepest sleep, and even night guards are at their weakest.
At that hour, Sato and the others didn't split up. Instead, they all gathered at the surface entrance of the enemy's main base and set up an ambush.
At exactly 3:15 a.m., all three outlets around Lake Verity erupted in massive explosions simultaneously.
Upon hearing the blasts, Sato immediately sent out the evolved ACE that hadn't yet appeared in battle… his pseudo-legendary Tyranitar.
"Use Earthquake!"
"TYRAAAAN!"
Bathed in bright moonlight, Tyranitar looked like a tyrant of the night. With an excited roar, the ground beneath it began to shatter inch by inch, rapidly expanding outward over a hundred meters.
If this had been a fully tree-covered forest, Tyranitar's destructive power might have been limited. But since the enemy base was underground, the surrounding area had long been hollowed out.
Without the protection of tangled tree roots, the subterranean defenses crumbled like paper under Tyranitar's power.
Huge sections of land began collapsing. Occasionally, flashes of white fluorescent lights appeared in the gaps, clearly indicating the enemy base's locations.
The main gate they had been searching for soon became visible, and a few people in black uniforms stumbled out toward it.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep…
The alarm finally sounded, but it was clearly too late. Tyranitar strode toward the underground base's entrance, shifting the surrounding rocks out of its way with complete control.
Sato, Joseph, and Mark quietly followed behind. Alongside them appeared Umbreon, Arbok, and Gogoat.
"WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?! WHAT KIND OF MANIACS ARE YOU?!" A base grunt near the gate, his leg crushed by a fallen ceiling panel, shouted out; whether in accusation or simply from pain was unclear.
"…Maniacs?" Joseph retorted, not even bothering to throw a mocking glance.
The next moment, another chunk of ceiling came crashing down above the trio.
Tyranitar casually waved its left hand backward, and the ceiling panel flew off sideways.
…Perfectly landing on the very man who had just shouted.
"Tyranitar, Stone Edge, clear the way." Sato continued to issue commands, paying no attention to what had just happened.
The group advanced another few dozen meters before the base personel finally recovered from the quake, and a large number of grunts surged toward them.
Tyranitar stood at the front, shielding them from all sides. Standing three meters tall, it practically brushed the ceiling as it moved.
Prior to this operation, Sato had already given orders: show no mercy to any enemy.
Tyranitar's rock-solid foundation, built since childhood, erupted with full force in this one-against-many confrontation.
From beginning to end, Tyranitar didn't use any other move… only Stone Edge. It controlled hundreds of spinning sharp stone spikes simultaneously.
With each sweep of its arms, the stone spikes whirled through the air. Wherever they passed, blood sprayed violently. Nearly half of the grunts were skewered by multiple spikes before they even managed to release a Pokémon.
As for the rest, even if they did send out Pokémon, the level gap was so massive that one spike was still enough.
If they happened to face something like Golem, which had tougher "skin"?
No problem~
Use two spikes!
It was the first time Sato and the others had seen Tyranitar's full-power assault post-evolution.
…And it lived up completely to its "Tyrant" title.
In just moments, the ground was littered with bodies. Tyranitar glanced disdainfully at the dark red blood creeping toward its feet.
With a snort, the solid concrete floor began to churn violently, burying all the fallen grunts underground. The unconscious Pokémon were also embedded halfway into the floor; unable to move even if they woke up.
"Tar~"
Tyranitar let out a satisfied cry, glanced at the now-flat, earth-colored ground ahead, and continued marching forward.
Sato watched the familiar scene unfold and couldn't help twitching the corner of his mouth.
Joseph and Mark exchanged a silent glance with Sato… then silently looked away again.
'We saw nothing… We know nothing… We dare say nothing…'
"…You little punks… think just because you've got a pseudo-legendary… you can do whatever you want here…?"
A sinister(?) voice suddenly rang out from ahead, instantly setting off alarm bells for Sato and the others.
The next second, Fire Blast, Hydro Pump, and Giga Drain -all three moves- fired at Tyranitar simultaneously.
"Stone Edge, defend!"
"TYRAAAAAAAN!"
With a thunderous roar, Tyranitar swung both arms. All surrounding rock spikes gathered together into a massive rock wall in front of it.
The enemy's attacks landed one after another. The outer layer of the rock wall shattered instantly, and some of the energy leaked through, but this light drizzle posed no threat to Tyranitar at all.
"Stone Edge… FULL ASSAULT!"
As Sato's command rang out again, the defensive wall split open.
This time, only 24 stone spikes remained… but compared to before, they were significantly larger and thicker.
❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄ ❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄ ❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄ ❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄
Sooo… today's the last day (at least for the next 2 months) where you'll be getting three chapters a day.
Starting tomorrow, it'll be 2 chapters a day instead, slowing down just a bit, and the other story will resume with the previously mentioned schedule.
More chapters have been added per stage on Pa-tr3on to make up for the daily chapters.
Patr-eon/Romeloff